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New Data on High Unemployment Among Recent Veterans

By James Dao May 30, 2011 9:38 amMay 30, 2011 9:38 am

Much has been said about the high unemployment rate among veterans from the post-9/11 wars, but a new Congressional study offers some fresh insights into the nature of the problem, which does not appear to be going away anytime soon.

The report, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 10.9 percent in April. Although that is more than 2 percentage points lower than a year before, it is significantly higher than the rate for all veterans, 7.7 percent, or for the nonveteran population, 8.5 percent.

Theories abound on why the rate remains stubbornly high, including that employers do not fully appreciate the ways that military skills might translate into nonmilitary jobs.

But the report, by the chairman’s staff of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, suggests a fairly straightforward reason: the typical work experiences of recent veterans are best suited to the very industries which were particularly hard hit by the recession.

“Prior to the start of the recession, post-9/11 veterans were more likely than nonveterans to be employed in mining, construction, manufacturing, transportation and utilities, information, and professional and business services — all industries that experienced significant drops in employment during 2008-2009,” the report says. “These veterans also were less likely to be employed in education and health services, the only major sector that added jobs during the Great Recession.”

The report notes that the problem is particularly severe among young male veterans, ages 18 to 24, for whom the unemployment rate is nearly 27 percent. While younger people in general are more likely to be unemployed, that number is still significantly higher than the rate for male nonveterans of the same age group: 17.4 percent.

The report also raises concerns about whether disabled veterans will begin dropping out of the labor force over time, as seems to have happened with Vietnam-era veterans. While labor force participation among post-9/11 veterans is relatively high, at 81 percent, the report says that a quarter of those veterans have service-connected disabilities that could “lead to a decline in employment among them.”

Labor force participation refers to people who are either working or actively looking for work, and includes those receiving unemployment benefits.

The report was prepared by the staff of the committee’s Democratic chairman, Senator Robert P. Casey Jr., of Pennsylvania. The committee includes 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, chosen from both houses of Congress.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the report comes with a plug for legislation supported by Mr. Casey, including the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011, which would make it easier for new veterans to apply for federal jobs, provide money for job training programs and require service members to participate in job-hunting programs before the leaving the military.

“In the upcoming budget deliberations, not only must Congress support essential programs for veterans, but we also must modernize and improve them,” Mr. Casey said in a statement. “Education and training which targets expanding sectors of the economy is vital – both before and after service members leave the military. We need to do a better job helping veterans translate their military experiences and skills to employers.”

The report also includes some ideas that might not go over well with Republicans in Congress or with Republican-controlled state legislatures that are working hard to slash public sector spending.

The report notes, for instance, that 16.3 percent, or almost one-sixth, of recent veterans are employed by the federal government, compared with 8.7 percent of all veterans and just 2.2 percent of nonveterans. And it points out that nearly a third of recent veterans work in the public sector generally, compared with 14.8 percent of nonveterans.

Given those high rates, the report argues that federal, state and local governments need to be aware that deep budget cuts could hurt veterans.

“As Congress deliberates how best to put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path, efforts to reduce the federal deficit must not come at the cost of helping recent veterans succeed in today’s labor market,” the report says.

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